1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ranch and farm equipment and more particularly to a device which may be used manually or in conjunction with power equipment for the removal of metal fence posts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A widely used type of fence post is a metal post having a T-shaped cross-section containing solid lugs on the face of the T distributed evenly along the length thereof for the purpose of supporting strands of wire. The lower end of the post is designed with a pointed end to facilitate driving of the post into the soil and an anchor plate somewhat above said point to maintain alignment of the post during driving, and to prevent working the post back and forth so as to enlarge the hole thereby causing the post to be easily worked out by the animals or the elements. It is by virtue of the anchor plate and the depth to which the post is driven that causes the extraction to be extremely difficult without bending or otherwise damaging or defacing the fence post. A number of devices and apparatus have been created in the past for the purpose of removing metal fence posts. For example, there is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,494, issued to J. F. Bulfer, Jr., on Sept. 24, 1957. The design of this unit, as in the case of many other units, is such as to maximize the biting of the edges of the device into the metal post. This provides a firm grip on the post allowing its removal by an upward application of force on the device such as by means of a draw bar on a three-point hydraulic lift tractor. Another device relying upon the binding effect created when a sharp edge of the device bites into the metal post is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,687, issued to Eugene J. De Rome, et al, on Oct. 2, 1973. The difficulty with metal post removing devices of this general design which rely upon a sharp edge of the device biting into the fence post, is that these edges eventually wear down reducing the biting capability of the device to the point of causing it to fail to grip or slip dangerously during the extraction process. Such devices will work well when they are new and the edges on the device are sharp, but eventually these edges become dull and must be replaced. In addition, because of the point force applied to the relatively mild steel from which the fence post is fabricated, creates sharp burrs on the post which are hazardous to the operators. Another prior art device for removing fence posts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,463, issued to F. G. Carrel, on July 4, 1933. As in the other prior art devices mentioned above, the Carrel device likewise provides an apperture having edges which are substantially normal to the surface of the device, thereby when the device is slipped over the post and forcefully applied against the post in an upward manner, the sharp edges come into contact with the front and back portions of the post thereby creating the biting effect referred to above. Although the drawings show the unit being used so that the lugs on the post are engaged, the device relies upon the two-point bite approach thereby creating burrs on the fence post as well as eventually wearing out the biting surfaces on the tool. Such devices, moreover, by virtue of the two-point contact, create a bending moment which can cause the post to bend. Although in most cases such bends are quite small, if the posts are to be reused, even a slightest degree of angularity will create serious problems in reconstructing a straight, taut fence line.
The above are simply exemplary of the prior art showing the various metal fence post extracting devices. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a fence post remover which does not rely upon point contacts to create a bite, but relies upon the application of forces over a comparatively larger area thereby minimizing wear on the device itself, substantially reducing the tendency of the post to be bent and to require a minimum of energy to remove the post since the force vectors created in its use are are primarily along the axis of the post and very little counteracting transverse forces are created causing a bending movement on the post.